Err Msg: Windows Has Disabled Direct Disk Access to Protect...

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

After you install Windows 95, you may receive the following message when you start your computer:

   Windows has disabled direct disk access to protect your long file-
   names. To override this protection, see the LOCK /? command for more
   information.

   The system has been halted. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your
   computer.

CAUSE

This problem can occur for any of the following reasons:

• You are running the shareware program Winload.exe. This program is not compatible with Windows 95.
• Pointer.exe is being loaded in the Win.ini file.
• You are running the Df.exe program from Norton Utilities 7.0.
• You are loading older MS-DOS or PC-DOS drivers in the Config.sys file.
• You are running Norton Disk Doctor (NDD) from Norton Utilities 8.0.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this problem, use the appropriate method below.

You Are Running Winload.exe

Remove Winload.exe from the Autoexec.bat file. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

2. At the MS-DOS prompt, use any text editor (such as Edit.com) to edit the Autoexec.bat file.

3. Remove the line containing Winload.exe from the file.

4. Save and then close the file.

5. Restart Windows 95 normally.

Pointer.exe Is Being Loaded in the Win.ini File

Remove Pointer.exe from the "load=" line in the Win.ini file. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

2. At the MS-DOS prompt, use any text editor (such as Edit.com) to edit the Win.ini file in the Windows folder.

3. Remove the following entry from the "load=" line:

         c:\mouse\pointer.exe
   

         -or-
   

         c:\msinput\pointer.exe
   

   NOTE: Do not remove any other entry from the "load=" line.

4. Save the Win.ini file and close the editor.

5. Restart Windows 95 normally.

You Are Running Df.exe

Remove Df.exe from the Autoexec.bat file. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

2. At the MS-DOS prompt, use any text editor (such as Edit.com) to edit the Autoexec.bat file.

3. Remove the line containing Df.exe from the file.

4. Save and then close the file.

5. Restart Windows 95 normally.

You Are Loading Older MS-DOS or PC-DOS Drivers in the Config.sys File

Check the Config.sys file for lines loading device drivers (such as Himem.sys and Emm386.exe) from the DOS folder. If you find such a line, change it to load the Windows 95 version of the driver, and then restart your computer. For example, you would change a line that reads

   c:\dos\himem.sys

   c:\<windows>\himem.sys

You Are Running Norton Disk Doctor (NDD) from Norton Utilities 8.0

Remove NDD from the Autoexec.bat file. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

2. Use any text editor (such as Edit.com) to open the Autoexec.bat file.

3. Remove the line containing Ndd.exe.

4. Save and then close the Autoexec.bat file.

5. Restart Windows 95 normally.

STATUS

This situation is most likely caused by design changes in Windows 95. Microsoft has confirmed that it is not caused by a problem in Windows 95.

MORE INFORMATION

Winload.exe is a shareware program designed to let you start either MS-DOS or Windows.

For additional information about issues that can cause the error message stated above, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q142183
   TITLE     : Setup Err Msg: Windows 95 Has Disabled Direct Disk
               Access...

   ARTICLE-ID: Q143281
   TITLE     : Built-In Anti-Virus Support in Windows 95

   ARTICLE-ID: Q160048
   TITLE     : Cannot Start Computer After Running DriveSpace on IBM
               Aptiva